Unishe April
{{Short description|1994 film by Rituparno Ghosh}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Unishe April
| image = Unishe April.jpg
| caption = Theatrical Poster
| director = Rituparno Ghosh
| writer = Rituparno Ghosh
| starring = {{ubl|Aparna Sen|Debashree Roy|Prosenjit Chatterjee|Boddhiswatta Majumdar|Deepankar De}}
| producer = Renu Roy
| studio = Spandan Films{{Cite web|title=The world of Rituparno Ghosh: Texts, contexts and transgressions|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272399144|access-date=2021-07-22|website=ResearchGate|language=en|page=3}}
| distributor =
| cinematography = Sunirmal Mazumdar
| editing =
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1994}}
| runtime = 138 mins
| country = India
| language = Bengali
| music = Jyotishka Dasgupta
| budget = {{Estimation}} {{INR|20 lakhs}}{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms|title=Rituparno Ghosh's Unishe April turns 25|newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=22 July 2021|last1=Sen |first1=Zinia }}
}}
Unishe April ({{IPA|bn|u̯niʃe epril}}, {{translation|April 19}}) is a 1994 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh and produced by Renu Roy under the banner of Spandan Films. It stars Aparna Sen, Debashree Roy, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Boddhiswatta Majumdar and Deepankar De. The music of the film was composed by Jyotishka Dasgupta.
Unishe April marked Ghosh's second directorial venture after Hirer Angti (1992). A loose remake of Ingmar Bergman's film Autumn Sonata (1978), it opened to widespread acclaim, with critical praise drawn towards the screenplay and performances by the lead actors—especially that of Sen and Ray, the latter eventually winning the National film Award for Best Actress. Ghosh, besides directing the film, also wrote the screenplay while the cinematography was handled by Sunirmal Mazumdar.
The film's narrative revolves around the tensed relationship between a woman who is an uninvolved parent and her daughter, depicting how their inter-personal matters lead to a bitter aspect of life.{{Cite web|date=June 30, 1995|first=Soutik|last=Biswas|title=Award-winning Bengali film Unishe April explores the mother-daughter bond|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-30|access-date=2021-07-21|website=India Today|language=en}} Considered way ahead of its time, the huge success of the film was instrumental in ending the era of action films in Bengali film industry and rejuvenating the genre of art films. Ray's award-winning performance further consolidated her position as the 'undisputed queen of Bengali cinema'. At the 42nd National Film Awards, it won Best Feature Film and was nominated for the New Currents Award at the Busan International Film Festival of 1996.
Plot
Sarojini (Aparna Sen) is a well-known dancer, whose immense dedication to her art permeates every aspect of her life. While honor and acclaim make way into her professional life she, is less successful on the domestic front. Her growing popularity leads to her husband Manish's (Boddhiswatta Majumdar) gradual resentment towards her and ultimately a rift between the couple. Manish takes over the upbringing of their only daughter, Aditi, as Sarojini remains busy with her artistic commitments. Sarojini seems to find a replacement for the void in her marital life through dancing, however she is unsure if her blossoming career and success is really bringing her happiness. The sudden demise of Manish forces Sarojini to put her daughter in a hostel. The glittering memory of her father and her mother's inability to give her proper time results in Aditi's bitterness towards her mother.
The film begins with Aditi's (Debashree Roy) returning home. She is now all grown up and on the verge of starting her career as a doctor, like her father. The atmosphere is thick with the sharp tension between mother and daughter. Shortly after Aditi's return, Sarojini is honored with a prestigious award. It is 19 April, Aditi's father's death anniversary, which her mother appears to have forgotten. Misunderstanding and temperamental conflicts creates an air of suffocation for both.
Aditi's prospective husband, Prosenjit Chatterjee dumps her after his family learns of her mother's profession soon after the public announcement of Sarojini's award. Heartbroken, Aditi decides to attempt suicide, which her mother finds out leading mother and daughter into a heart-to-heart conversation. Gradually they unlock two decades of rage and rancor, pain and bitterness to each other. Untold facts finally get deciphered, misunderstandings clear out. All hint to the final question: "Will Aditi ultimately be able to forgive her mother?"
Cast
- Aparna Sen as Sarojini Gupta aka Babli
- Debashree Roy as Dr. Aditi Sen aka Mithu
- Boddhiswatta Majumdar as Manish Sen, Sarojini's deceased husband
- Prosenjit Chatterjee as Sudeep
- Chitra Sen as Bela
- Deepankar De as Somnath
- Sudeshna Roy as Ruma
- Dipannita Nag
- Tapas Tagore
- Shoubhik Mitra
- Malay Bhattacharya
- Prabir Ghosh
- Sumit Roy
- Shuchita Roychowdhury{{Cite web|title=Unishe April (1994) Cast - Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/movies/unishe-april-36164/cast-crew|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722073320/https://www.cinestaan.com/movies/unishe-april-36164/cast-crew|url-status=live|archive-date=22 July 2021|access-date=2021-07-22|website=Cinestaan}}
Reception
Reviewing the film at the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India, S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu wrote that "The film has a gripping climax which makes you to sit
on the edge of the seat. Rituparno Ghosh has directed this film which has good music by Jyotishka Dasgupta and eye catching visuals are by Sunirmal Majumder".{{Cite web|url=http://www.webpage.com/hindu/960113/03/1226a.html|title=The cream of Indian cinema|work=The Hindu|date=12 January 1996|page=26|first=S. R. Ashok|last=Kumar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961221151607/http://www.webpage.com/hindu/960113/03/1226a.html|archive-date=21 December 1996}}
Legacy
Unishe April gained cult status in Bengali cinema,{{Cite web|last=Pioneer|first=The|title=Bengali Cinema strikes back|url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2013/sunday-edition/bengali-cinema-strikes-back.html|access-date=2021-07-22|website=The Pioneer|language=en}} and has been considered as one of the most memorable works of Ghosh.{{Cite web|title=Top 10 films of Rituparno Ghosh|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/photo/top-10-films-of-rituparno-ghosh-369927-2013-05-30|access-date=2021-07-22|website=India Today|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-05-30|title=Most memorable, provocative films of Rituparno Ghosh|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/most-memorable-provocative-films-of-rituparno-ghosh/photostory/69577017.cms|access-date=2021-07-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}} Critics cited that "it changed the dynamics of Bengali cinema".{{Cite news|title=Rituparno Ghosh's Unishe April turns 25|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms |access-date=22 July 2021|newspaper=The Times of India|last1=Sen |first1=Zinia }}
In the words of Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express:
{{Centered pull quote
| quote = "Unishe April, out in 1994, was only his second feature, but he displayed in it, and continued to display in his subsequent work,a rare understanding of human nature. He was fearless when it came to emotion: he demanded that his actors strip away the layers,throw away artifice, so that when they felt pain, we felt it too".{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-sense-for-silence/1122916/|access-date=22 July 2021|title=A Sense for Silence}}
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Following its success, Ghosh came to be known as the "Heir to Satyajit Ray" as he derived from Ray's style "a subtler way of telling complex problems that plugged Bengali society" in [almost] all his films.{{Cite web|date=2021-06-20|title=From Ray to Rituparno: A long history of politics in Bengali cinema|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/from-satyajit-ray-to-rituparno-a-long-history-of-politics-in-bengali-cinema-7367058/|access-date=2021-07-22|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2013-06-26|title=Ghosh changed the grammar of cinema (Issue 1)|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/ghosh-changed-the-grammar-of-cinema-issue-1-2295.html|access-date=2021-07-21|website=The Statesman|language=en-US}} Noted socialist {{Plain link|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/people/academic-and-teaching-staff/alison-macdonald#:~:text=Alison's%20research%20interests%20include%20selfhood,education%2C%20religion%2C%20and%20voluntarism.|name=Alison Macdonald}} hailed Unishe April to be a pertinent example of the fact that "good family relations grow from negotiation and discussion".{{Cite web |title='Real' and 'Imagined' Women: A Feminist Reading of Rituparno Ghosh's Films |website=University College London |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/sites/anthropology/files/032009.pdf |page=12 |s2cid=208232169}} While elaborating further, she says "Ghosh demonstrates that motherhood is not only something that needs to be worked at but that traditional expectations made of women in modern society are unrealistic in this respect." Sangeeta Dutta pinpoints that the film helped Ghosh to build his reputation among the Bengali diaspora.{{Cite web|title=The world of Rituparno Ghosh: Texts, contexts and transgressions|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272399144|access-date=2021-07-22|website=ResearchGate|language=en}} On 22 July 2021, Shoma. A. Chatterji has written "Through this very unusual film, Ghosh aspired to free the censored and distorted image of the screen mother from the taboos and constraints of patriarchal culture, to place it as a subject of psychological study and sociological inspiration for a feminist reading."{{Cite web|title=Remembering Unishe April by Rituparno Ghosh|url=https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/16/17074/Remembering-Unishe-April-by-Rituparno-Ghosh |access-date=22 July 2021|website=www.thecitizen.in|date=8 June 2019 }} Film-maker Goutam Ghoshe noted "the mother-daughter relationship in 'Unishe April' was refreshing, yet realistic in a society that was going through churning."{{cite news|title=Rituparno Ghosh, trailblazer of new wave Bengali cinema, dies|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-30/news-interviews/39627997_1_rituparno-ghosh-chokher-bali-national-film-award|access-date=30 May 2013|date=30 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608082614/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-30/news-interviews/39627997_1_rituparno-ghosh-chokher-bali-national-film-award|archive-date=8 June 2013|newspaper=The Times of India}}
Debashree Roy, who was already a popular actress in Bengali cinema, gained critical acclaim for this film in particular.{{Cite web|date=2020-05-30|title=From 'Unishe April' to 'Utsab': A Rituparno Ghosh Retrospective|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/from-unishe-april-to-utsab-a-rituparno-ghosh-retrospective/photostory/76091564.cms|access-date=2021-07-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}} She went on to collaborate with Ghosh in his yet another venture Asukh (1999), which was too a success. The film tops the list of her Best Performances,{{Cite magazine |title=Debashree Roy set to return to acting after 10 year hiatus|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/amp/debashree-roy-set-to-return-to-acting-after-10year-hiatus/2073456 |access-date=22 July 2021|magazine=Outlook}} and in one of her interviews she was quoted saying, "this character is very much different from the ones I have played till now".{{Citation|title=Bengali film actress and dancer Debashree Roy - archival footage|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhlpeMbFtqg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/QhlpeMbFtqg |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-07-22}}{{cbignore}} Talking about Sen's role in the film, The Times of India has put forth their view as, "Aparna Sen excelled in her role. Both the personality of a professional dancer and motherly love has superbly bloomed in the character Sarojini".{{Cite news|title=Aparna Sen at her best! 7 films that reinvented her acting career - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/aparna-sen-at-her-best-7-films-that-reinvented-her-acting-career/articleshow/71741384.cms|access-date=2021-07-22|website=The Times of India|language=en|last1=Ghosh |first1=Sankha }} As part of Indian Independence Day's celebration in 2016, NDTV included the film in its "70 Great Indian Films" listing.{{Cite web|title=Happy Independence Day: 70 Years, 70 Great Films|url=https://movies.ndtv.com/photos/happy-independence-day-70-years-70-great-films-15114|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124152837/https://movies.ndtv.com/photos/happy-independence-day-70-years-70-great-films-15114#photo-196158|archive-date=24 January 2017|access-date=10 March 2020|website=NDTVMovies.com|language=en}} News18 considered it to be one of the "100 Greatest Indian films of all time".{{Cite web|title=100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time|url=https://www.news18.com/photogallery/movies/100-years-of-indian-cinema-the-100-greatest-indian-films-of-all-time-903065-2.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525161518if_/https://www.news18.com/photogallery/movies/100-years-of-indian-cinema-the-100-greatest-indian-films-of-all-time-903065.html|archive-date=25 May 2017|access-date=2021-07-23|website=News18|language=en}}
Awards
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! scope="col" |Award{{efn|Awards, festivals and organizations are in Alphabetical order.}} ! scope="col" |Date of ceremony{{efn|Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.}} ! scope="col" |Category ! scope="col" |Recipient(s) ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| 1st Busan International Film Festival
| 13 September 1996 | New Currents Award | rowspan="2"|Unishe April | {{nominated}} |
| rowspan="2"|42nd National Film Awards
| rowspan="2"|17 July 1995 | rowspan="2" {{won}} |
| Best Actress |
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0111559|title=Unishe April}}
{{Rituparno Ghosh}}
{{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm}}
Category:Bengali-language Indian films
Category:Films featuring a Best Actress National Award–winning performance
Category:Best Feature Film National Film Award winners